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News and Features about Organized Crime, Mafia and La Cosa Nostra taken from National and Local News Sources. In an attempt to get you this type of coverage in a timely manner we can not be responsible for the content of the following material. |
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12-7-99 Ewing, Oakley Among Strip Club Customers. Mob-linked joint comped athletes. Tuesday, December 07, 1999
By GREG B. SMITH A mob-connected Atlanta strip club provided thousands of dollars worth of strippers and booze to professional athletes including Patrick Ewing and ex-Knick Charles Oakley, according to federal sources and investigative records. The topless-bottomless Gold Club also gave free liquor and sex shows to former Chicago Bull Dennis Rodman and professional wrestlers Randy (Macho Man) Savage, Diamond Dallas Page, Lou Sabh, Scott Steiner and Saturn, according to the sources and records. The club allegedly gave the athletes phony money called Gold Bucks that it normally sells to patrons so they can slip them into strippers' G-strings or "rent" one of the club's 19 VIP Gold Rooms for watching nude lap dances in private. Gold Club owner Steven Kaplan has been identified for years as a close associate of the Gambino crime family. He was indicted last month on charges that the strip joint served as a skimming operation for the mob. According to the 97-page indictment, Kaplan provided strippers on numerous occasions to perform oral sex on unnamed pro basketball players inside his Gold Rooms. No ballplayers were named in the indictment and none faces allegations of wrongdoing. As part of the investigation, the FBI and IRS discovered records of all the Gold Club customers who were provided free drinks and Gold Bucks by Kaplan, according to sources familiar with the investigation. NBA spokesman Chris Brienza said league rules do not prohibit players from receiving free food and booze from restaurants and bars. But the rules do prohibit behavior that is "materially detrimental or materially prejudicial to the team or the league." Brienza declined to talk about the racketeering case, but acknowledged that players getting comped by a reputed mob associate could be of concern. He reiterated a statement that the league was "monitoring the situation." Gold Club records seized by the feds and reviewed by the Daily News indicate that over the course of five nights in April 1998 Kaplan approved comp slips for "Patrick Ewing and friends" for a total bill of $2,233, including a $991 tab in a single night. The News made numerous attempts to reach Ewing through his agent, David Falk, but the calls were not returned. Oakley, who left the Knicks in June 1998, was comped for $1,313 and $665 on two nights in June 1997, after the Knicks lost a grueling series with the Miami Heat, according to the records. Oakley's agent, Charles Grantham, did not return calls seeking comment. Rodman dished out $411, $516, $786, $895, $926 and $946 in Gold Bucks during visits spanning 1995 to 1998, according to the records. Rodman's agent, Steve Chasman, said, "Dennis spends a lot of money on entertainment, but he doesn't have any knowledge of any of this stuff." Knicks spokeswoman Lori Hamamoto declined to comment. World Championship Wrestling officials and representatives of the wrestlers did not return calls seeking comment. Kaplan's lawyer, Benjamin Brafman, denied his client has any ties to the mob, and declined to discuss the involvement of pro hoop stars in the case. In the Nov. 4 indictment against Kaplan, Atlanta U.S. Attorney Richard Deane charged that during the years Kaplan has owned the Gold Club, he has skimmed million for the mob. Kaplan also allegedly provided athletes with strippers for sex, and between 1995 and 1999 had prostitutes perform lesbian sex shows in front of professional basketball players. The indictment also alleges Kaplan arranged a wild party in Charleston, S.C., in the spring of 1997 that included a lesbian sex show in front of at least several unidentified Knicks players. The Knicks were in Charleston at the time, preparing for that season's playoffs. For years, press reports have highlighted Kaplan's alleged links to mob boss John (Dapper Don) Gotti and his son, John A. (Junior) Gotti. Both men are imprisoned on unrelated racketeering charges.
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